The Butler girls basketball team would rather just forget about last week.

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In five days, the Bulldogs crashed from being alone atop Region 3-AAAA into a tie with two other teams.

Butler lost twice playing without four suspended players, including leading scorer Ashley Watts.

Coach Keisha Stewart said she suspended the players for "team reasons" and declined to elaborate. The players will be back for Wednesday's game against Westside. The suspensions whittled Butler's roster to six players Saturday in a 29-point loss to Lakeside.

"We had a little stumble, but we'll be back in stride," Stewart said. "We'll be back to the top. Hopefully, we will come back new and improved."

The Bulldogs led every team in the region by at least two games entering last week. After losses to Hephzibah and Lakeside, they are now tied with the Rebels and Glenn Hills at 15-3. Stewart said she expects to get the No. 3 seed for the region tournament should all three teams win their two games this week.

TOUGH LOSSES: Two area teams had winning streaks snapped over the weekend.

The Laney girls fell by seven points in overtime at unbeaten Vidalia, ending a 12-game winning streak. Defending Class AA champion Buford also lost Friday, which means Vidalia should be a unanimous No. 1 in statewide polls this week.

The Aquinas boys lost by 30 at top-ranked and unbeaten Wilkinson County. The Irish had not lost in their previous 13 games. Both Laney and Aquinas have the week off before starting region tournament play.

ROSTERS ANNOUNCED: The rosters for the McDonald's All-American high school basketball all-star games will be announced Thursday on ESPNU.

The boys and girls games are generally considered the most prestigious of the national high school all-star tournaments and feature the top 24 players in the country.

While landing an area player on the roster might be a long shot, the area has a long list of nominees. Nominated boys are Tony Davis (Evans), Justin Maxwell (Aiken) and Martaveous Smith (Burke County). Nominated girls are Aarika Judge (Hephzibah), Jessica Morton (Glenn Hills), Candice Warthen (Warren County) and Aishya Wofford (Westside).

Twenty-six boys and 39 girls from Georgia, and 20 boys and nine girls from South Carolina were nominated for the games, which are March 31 in Columbus, Ohio.

STATE TITLE WEEK: The Georgia High School Association swimming and diving championships begin Wednesday and run through Saturday. Swimmers compete in one of two classifications on a statewide level: Class AAAAA and everyone else.

The Lakeside boys and girls won area titles and, competing outside Class AAAAA, should have the opportunity for a strong team showing, particularly on the girls side.

MATS TOURNAMENT: The GHSA traditional wrestling regionals are Friday and Saturday at 10 locations across the state. Individuals in 14 weight classes will compete for eight state-finals spots (four in Class A).

Area Class AAAA teams will compete at Loganville. Burke County in Class AAA is at Locust Grove. Greenbrier in Class AAAAA is at Union Grove. The state competition is Feb. 18-20 in Gwinnett County.

TONIGHT'S BIG GAMES

BOYS

Evans vs. Westside (at Richmond Academy), 6:30 p.m.: This game should be a nice preview and performance indicator for next week's Region 3-AAAA tournament. Toss aside region unbeaten Richmond Academy, and the other three playoff spots appear wide open.

GIRLS

Heathwood Hall at Augusta Christian, 6 p.m.: Two wins this week will allow the Lions to finish with a 10-0 region record. Heathwood Hall's lone region loss came Jan. 19, by 16 points to Augusta Christian.